Polarization arises from social media access, not from people’s own content choices

Evidence

It depends: regular non-curated browsing does not provide the same perverse incentives as social media. A key study that looked at the browsing activity of about 50,000 active US news readers (which culminated in over 2 billion page views) directly compared how polarized users were when they accessed content via social media versus direct browsing activity. This study confirmed that news content accessed via social media and search engines is associated with greater polarization. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 466

Categorization

• QUESTION: Which exact study is this, and how did it operationalize polarization across 2 billion page views?
• XREF: connects to: Echo chambers may be a lesser problem than a larger unstated social-media dynamic — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 453; News consumed via social media correlates with more polarization than direct browsing; Social media amplifies rather than causes pre-existing biases in susceptible users (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• News consumed via social media correlates with more polarization than direct browsing #corroborates (0.85)
• Quitting social media for a month causally reduces political polarization #corroborates (0.82) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 459
• Social media amplifies rather than causes pre-existing biases in susceptible users #contradicts (0.80)
• Most people do not actively seek out polarizing content when browsing freely #expands (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 465
• Algorithmic content filtering can funnel users toward polarization and extremism #expands (0.78) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 476
• Exposing people to diverse views fails because social media rewards outrage #contradicts (0.75) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 479